Re-thinking Sales - for Professional Services like CPAs, Attorneys, Engineers

Last blog started to reframe selling for those who tell themselves "I'm a CPA - I never wanted to be IN sales!" I've heard the same from attorneys and engineers.  Problems start with how we define what "being in sales" means.

One way we define a role is with examples - for instance, is a salesperson someone like the hilariously slick Herb Tarlek on TV's  "WKRP in Cincinnati" or Al Pacino's con-man Ricky Roma in the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross?"  Do we define what a salesperson is by stereotypes selling used cars or timeshare properties?

No wonder those who studied accounting / law / science to be professionals in their field may recoil when expected to also sell!  It's not who they are, not what they trained to become, not what they want to be!

That deep resistance, based on their definition and expectations, leads to an attitude/performance "doom loop."  They don't want to do it, they do it badly, they experience failure, and they hate and resist doing it more.

To break out of the "doom loop" starts with redefining what selling IS.

Sales is meeting people to find out what they want and need.  If they want and need what your firm offers, you can help them make a good decision to meet their needs.  That begins a relationship that lets you use your professional expertise to help them succeed.

If that's what professional sales is about, Herb Tarlek or Ricky Roma don't fit there.  There's no need for "slick" or deception, no "con," no manipulation. 

The people you meet aren't suckers, or victims, or prey - they're potential clients, IF they need what you offer. When you meet people who don't need what you offer, that's OK, and there is absolutely no need to persuade them that they do.

The challenges of professional selling are finding people who may need your services, meeting them, gaining rapport, discovering their wants and needs, offering to meet their needs, and coming to agreement.

Without any compromise to integrity, professionalism, role, or self-image, professionals can improve their comfort and results at every step.

And the first few steps happen through networking - which is the next blog.